Tag Archives: Beauty and the Beast

Sorry about the day-late post, but I figured that this would be more exciting than anything I could have drudged up yesterday: My third full-length fiction novel, The Thing About Apples, has been accepted for publication by eLectio publishing! We’ll be getting a release date set very soon, and I can’t wait to share it with you. Thank you for all of your support and well-wishes during this time!

Remember, you still have time to get your copies of the first two installments in this series, ‘Till the Last Petal Falls and To Dwell in Dreams, in paperback or in eBook format. Since it’s an installment series, each book is a stand-alone novel, but characters from previous books reappear in the subsequent novels, and it’s always fun figuring out how these very different stories end up being connected.

To Dwell in Dreams,the second novel of the ‘Once Upon a Reality’ series, made the ‘Favorite Books of 2014’ list of fellow eLectio author, Amanda Romine Lynch! I feel so honored- and motivated to keep chugging along with the third book, The Thing About Apples, which is currently in progress.

(And don’t forget, if you haven’t read To Dwell in Dreams yet that you can still start from the beginning of the series with ‘Til the Last Petal Falls! Great way to start your year of reading in 2015!)

Want to start from the beginning of the Once Upon a Reality series? Kristen A. Scearce has given ‘Till the Last Petal Falls a five-star review:

During my Psychology classes in college, we discussed how various characters have psychological issues: popular cartoon characters, the cast of “Winnie the Pooh,” and the vast majority of the Disney Princesses. Belle is no exception, and this book explores that idea beautifully, no pun intended.

Jolee answers a Craigslist ad which sounds too good to be true, and she finds herself in the mountains of Aspen, tutoring a shut-in with some very serious issues of his own. As time goes by, she learns [more] and more about this man, and most of it is not good. However, she sticks by him, hoping to “fix” him with her love.

Sound like a recipe for disaster?

I used to teach a rehabilitation class for men convicted of domestic violence, and this book definitely delves into that dynamic head-first. It’s a real eye-opener into the lives of those involved in those situations, from both sides of the coin as well as an outsider’s perspective. Comparing it to the story of “Beauty and the Beast” really adds a whole new layer to it, as most of us either grew up with that story/movie or fell in love with it because of our kids/grandkids/etc. It’s a crazy thought, but the more you think about it, the more you realize Belle suffered from Stockholm syndrome as well as battered-woman syndrome, and that HEA Disney ending is not the one generally associated with those situations.

Bravo to the author for writing this cross-examination of a beloved children’s story and shedding some light on this serious issue while also maintaining a gripping novel.

As always, I appreciate any and all reviews of my work, posted on Amazon, B&N or Goodreads- it helps me as an author to see what I’m getting right, and what I still need to work on with my next project.

Can you believe that it’s been a full year since my first novel, ‘Till the Last Petal Falls, was published? I still can’t believe it- even though I’ve already even finished the second and have everything set for a summer publication.

1114 people entered my anniversary Goodreads giveaway- that’s about twice as many people who entered my first giveaway more than a year ago! If you had told the me then that more than a thousand people would be requesting something I wrote, I would have laughed you off.

I’d like to take this moment to thank all of my supporters and fans for one heck of a year. It’s been exciting, jumping headfirst into this whole authoring thing- but I wouldn’t have the strength or the will to keep pushing myself to become a better author, producing better stories for you, if I didn’t have such a wonderful network of encouragement and kindness.

Congratulations to the five winners of the giveaway:

JC Tenney

Candace Banning

Sharon Powell

Caryn Landreth

and

Paige Bryant!

Your signed copies of ‘Till the Last Petal Falls will be shipping out to you this week! For those of you who entered and didn’t win, you can still get your copies at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, through the Book Bar or requesting a copy from your local independent bookstore. If you’d like a signed copy, always feel free to contact me personally through my contact form here!

A recent review of ‘Till the Last Petal Falls on Goodreads from user CV states that, even though some of the technical issues in the novel made her ‘struggle’ that:

“WARNING TO THOSE WHO WANT TO READ THIS BOOK: If you plan on this being anything like what you would expect (seeing as it’s supposed to be a realistic retelling of Beauty and the Beast), be warned. You might not look at the Disney movie – or anything else related – the same way….It was a very good read, and I’m quite particular. Once the story started to pick up, I couldn’t put it down. I had to know what was going to happen next. I went into the story with a certain mindset and feeling about the characters, then everything went insane.”

A conflicting review of the kind that I like! If you’ve read ‘Till the Last Petal Falls, let me know what you thought of it on the novel’s Goodreads page, Amazon, or Barnes & Noble! Honest reviews let me know what I’m doing well, and what I can work on for the next novel to best serve my readers.

Happy New Year! It’s weird to think that a year ago, I was still eagerly awaiting the publication of my first novel. In honor of this, I’m holding an anniversary giveaway- starting today, and ending on the anniversary of the publication of ‘Till the Last Petal Falls on February 25th, 2014, enter on Goodreads for your chance to win one of five signed copies of my debut novel (just in time for my big announcement regarding the second book of the series!)

A five-star review from Momma Chaos, of Reviewing in Chaos: (full review can be found if you click that link)

I personally was amazed at how drawn in I was. How I missed some of the signs and symptoms until the very end… This is definitely not a light read. It will pull you in and force you to face the hidden side of humanity. The dark side that we chose to turn away from and pretend it’s not there.

A story of child abuse, self-mutilation, and domestic violence that will wrap it’s tentacles so tightly around you, you will be left gasping for breath. I highly recommend this story and personally can’t wait to read more as Elizabeth takes on other fairy tales and brings new things to light for us to see.

Glad you enjoyed it, Momma! The overwhelmingly positive response to this first novel has left me geared up and ready to go with the rest of the series!

(If you haven’t got your copy of ‘Till the Last Petal Falls yet, it’s available in both eBook and paperback versions now- from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and a couple local bookstores. Check here for all the possible places you can get yours! If you’re looking to breaking into my work slowly (and cheaply), why not also check out some of my short works? )